Sadiq Khan calls for schools to close early

As reported by BBC news, London’s mayor has urged the government to ask all secondary schools and colleges in the capital to shut early ahead of Christmas

Sadiq Khan also wants them to reopen later in January because of “significant” coronavirus outbreaks among 10 to 19-year-olds. He said testing had to be ‘urgently expanded’ to students. It comes as schools in Greenwich became the first in England to move fully to online learning from Tuesday.

A spokesman for the Department for Education said it was “vital” children remained in school until the end of term. Khan described the surge in COVID-19 cases in London “deeply concerning”.

In the letter, also sent to the prime minister, he said he wanted regular asymptomatic testing to be extended to everyone who could not work form home as well as students and staff at London’s secondary schools, sixth-form college and further education colleges.

He has also called for face coverings to be made mandatory in busy outdoor public spaces, “given the numbers on our high streets in the run-up to Christmas”.

“The rollout of the vaccine has provided some light at the end of what has been a very dark tunnel, but this is no time to be complacent and we cannot let so many months of compromise and sacrifice go to waste,” he said.

“Time is running out to get the virus under control in our city which is why I urge the government to heed my call and provide us with the extra support we desperately need. Londoners always work together – and together our city will get through the winter and can look forward to better times ahead.”

in the letter, Khan said if London went into further restrictions, the current financial support offered by the government would be “insufficient to keep many businesses and the self-employed afloat”.

He wrote that if the capital moved to tier three, UK Hospitality had warned £2.7bn could be wiped off London’s hospitality industry, with 160,000 jobs permanently at risk.

“Theatres and venues in London have begun to reopen, many for the first time since March and after making their venues as safe as possible.

“Several major Christmas theatre productions are scheduled in December and January in the West End alone. Last-minute cancellations of these could prove ruinous,” he wrote.

Khan said before any additional restrictions were imposed, ministers should set up a compensation scheme for all lost income during the crucial festive period based on last year’s returns. He added workers required to self-isolate must also receive full pay and not just statutory sick pay.

A spokesman for the Department for Education said: “Schools, colleges and early years settings across the country have worked tremendously hard to put protective measures in place that are helping reduce the risk of the virus being transmitted.”

The Regional Schools Commissioner for the South East of England and South London would be continuing discussions with Greenwich, he added. Last week it was announced that all pupils, their families and teachers in parts of London, Kent and Essex should take a COVID test with extra mobile testing units brought in.

It comes as east London and parts of Kent and Essex became some of England’s major coronavirus hotspots. Three in four boroughs in the city have registered an increase in COVID-19 cases, figures released last week from the Office of National Statistics show.

Commenting on calls by the Mayor of London to move London schools to online learning this week, and a move to do so by Greenwich Council, Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said: “The National Education Union is pleased that Sadiq Khan has written to the Prime Minister pointing out that the biggest spread of the virus is within education settings and calling on the government to ask schools to close early for Christmas and re-open later and to provide extra resources for online learning. 

“Sadiq Khan is a politician who is reading the science and standing up for education and protecting communities. He also calls for secondary pupils to have regular asymptomatic testing to keep down transmission in schools. These would be important steps forward. 

“We strongly welcome the decision by Greenwich Council to urge all of its schools to close from Monday evening, to all except vulnerable children and the children of key workers. We urge other councils to take the same decision. 

“The government should have been planning for this weeks ago. They have now started to recognise the blindingly obvious fact that transmission is happening in schools and that this can spread to families. But the Government now needs to act. Much more is needed to control the virus in schools and to protect communities.”